Influence of Strip-Mining on the Mortality of a Wetland Caddisfly, \u3ci\u3eLimnephilus Indivisus\u3c/i\u3e (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae).

A coal mine about 2.2 km upstream from Stillfork Swamp Nature Preserve, Carroll Co., Ohio was suspected of causing a reduction in Limnephilus indivisus caddisflies in the south half of the preserve. Second instar L. indivisus larvae collected from the south half of the preserve and from two control areas were reared in cages at the site of collection and at the other two sites in a replicated experiment. Elevated total dissolved solids in water samples from within rearing enclosures displayed strong correlation (r2 = 0.864) with increased mortality when compared to larvae reared in unaffected areas. This investigation suggests that larvae of L. indivisus are useful in biomonitoring of wetlands impacted by acid-mine drainage, and potentially other perturbations

The snail-killing flies of Alaska (Diptera: Sciomyzidae)

Information is given on the geographic distribution, habitat preferences, larval foods, and immature stages for 57 species of 9 genera of Sciomyzidae known to occur in Alaska. An illustrated key to adults is included. Alaska as a habitat for sciomyzid flies is discussed, and information on feeding habits of the larvae is summarized

QUARTERLY PREDICTION MODELS FOR LIVE HOG PRICES

Demand and Price Analysis,

Dynamics of clade diversification on the morphological hypercube

Understanding the relationship between taxonomic and morphological changes is important in identifying the reasons for accelerated morphological diversification early in the history of animal phyla. Here, a simple general model describing the joint dynamics of taxonomic diversity and morphological disparity is presented and applied to the data on the diversification of blastozoans. I show that the observed patterns of deceleration in clade diversification can be explicable in terms of the geometric structure of the morphospace and the effects of extinction and speciation on morphological disparity without invoking major declines in the size of morphological transitions or taxonomic turnover rates. The model allows testing of hypotheses about patterns of diversification and estimation of rates of morphological evolution. In the case of blastozoans, I find no evidence that major changes in evolutionary rates and mechanisms are responsible for the deceleration of morphological diversification seen during the period of this clade's expansion. At the same time, there is evidence for a moderate decline in overall rates of morphological diversification concordant with a major change (from positive to negative values) in the clade's growth rate.Comment: 8 pages, Latex, 2 postscript figures, submitted to Proc.R.Soc.Lond.

Ubiquitous energy storage

This paper presents a vision of a future power system with "ubiquitous energy storage", where storage would be utilized at all levels of the electricity system. The growing requirement for storage is reviewed, driven by the expansion of distributed generation. The capabilities and existing applications of various storage technologies are presented, providing a useful review of the state of the art. Energy storage will have to be integrated with the power system and there are various ways in which this may be achieved. Some of these options are discussed, as are commercial and regulatory issues. In two case studies, the costs and benefits of some storage options are assessed. It is concluded that electrical storage is not cost effective but that thermal storage offers attractive opportunities

LANDSAT TM image data quality analysis for energy-related applications

This project represents a no-cost agreement between National Aeronautic Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA GSFC) and the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL). PNL is a Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratory operted by Battelle Memorial Institute at its Pacific Northwest Laboratories in Richland, Washington. The objective of this investigation is to evaluate LANDSAT's thematic mapper (TM) data quality and utility characteristics from an energy research and technological perspective. Of main interest is the extent to which repetitive TM data might support DOE efforts relating to siting, developing, and monitoring energy-related facilities, and to basic geoscientific research. The investigation utilizes existing staff and facility capabilities, and ongoing programmatic activities at PNL and other DOE national laboratories to cooperatively assess the potential usefulness of the improved experimental TM data. The investigation involves: (1) both LANDSAT 4 and 5 TM data, (2) qualitative and quantitative use consideration, and 3) NASA P (corrected) and A (uncorrected) CCT analysis for a variety of sites of DOE interest. Initial results were presented at the LANDSAT Investigator's Workshops and at specialized LANDSAT TM sessions at various conferences

The Visual Exploration of Insurance Data in Google Earth

Visualisation and geovisualisation techniques can both complement and help communicate the results of GIS and other analyses in the exploration of multivariate datasets and may provide insights and solutions for managing exposure and potential loss. Graphical techniques and the use of geobrowsers such as Google Earth are also being used in a communicative role to engage a variety of different audiences within insurance companies with information about policies, exposure and potential losses. In this paper, we focus on one particular geo-browser, Google Earth, which provides access to a rich array of datasets including aerial imagery, roads, administrative boundaries and photographs and, importantly, allows additional data to be added through the welldocumented KML format

Intense-Field Ionization of Monoaromatic Hydrocarbons using Radiation Pulses of Ultrashort Duration: Monohalobenzenes and Azabenzenes

Using 50-fs, 800-nm pulses, we study the intense-field ionization and fragmentation of the monohalobenzenes C_(6)H_(5)-X (X=F, Cl, Br, I) and of the heterocyclics azabenzene C5H5N (pyridine) and the three diazabenzenes C_(4)H_(4)N_(2) (pyridazine, pyrimidine, and pyrazine). Avoiding focal intensity averaging we find indications of resonance-enhanced MPI. In the monohalobenzenes the propensity for fragmentation increases for increasing Z: fluorobenzene yields predominantly C6H5Fn+, while iodobenzene yields atomic ions with charges up to I^(8+). We ascribe this to the heavy-atom effect: the large charge of the heavy halogens' nuclei induces ultrafast intersystem crossing to dissociative triplet states

Genome-wide analysis of chemically induced mutations in mouse in phenotype-driven screens

BACKGROUND: N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) mutagen has become the method of choice for inducing random mutations for forward genetics applications. However, distinguishing induced mutations from sequencing errors or sporadic mutations is difficult, which has hampered surveys of potential biases in the methodology in the past. Addressing this issue, we created a large cohort of mice with biological replicates enabling the confident calling of induced mutations, which in turn allowed us to conduct a comprehensive analysis of potential biases in mutation properties and genomic location. RESULTS: In the exome sequencing data we observe the known preference of ENU to cause A:T⇒G:C transitions in longer genes. Mutations were frequently clustered and inherited in blocks hampering attempts to pinpoint individual causative mutations by genome analysis only. Furthermore, ENU mutations were biased towards areas in the genome that are accessible in testis, potentially limiting the scope of forward genetic approaches to only 1–10 % of the genome. CONCLUSION: ENU provides a powerful tool for exploring the genome-phenome relationship, however forward genetic applications that require the mutation to be passed on through the germ line may be limited to explore only genes that are accessible in testis.This work was supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (grant APP 605524, 490037 and 1047082), the Australian Research Council (grant 12010061), the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy of Australia, and the Education investment fund from the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research